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Luca said a word in Italian she didn’t understand but the h “He beat you?”

“Yes Me and…and my mother”

Luca stood, went to the bar, poured hiiven her and tossed it back

“And where is he now?”

Mari folded her hands in her lap It helped with the tres About how Robert would turn to her after he’d gotten tired of pushing her mother around “He…he was in jail, but he’s out now He made parole the day before you and I went…” She had to stop, breathe, s “The day in the attic”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

She looked up from her lap then What she saw in Luca’s eyes she knew she’d rery for her Ready to stand between her and whoever would dare to hurt her

“He’s on parole, you said Would he come after you? Damn it, Mari, I could have protected you! You should have said soh this alone!”

“What would I have said, Luca?”

He put down his glass “If I had known you were scared, if I’d known the reason you didn’t like contact, I swear Mari, I wouldn’t have pushed I’m not cruel”

“And said what? ‘Hey, Mr New Boss! Please don’t mind me, I just don’t like any physical contact because my stepfather was a sadistic freak that beat me for the hell of it?’ Nice ice breaker, don’t you think?”

His eyes closed for the smallest of moments

“All the ti Dio, Mari, I’m so sorry”

He was blaston having all the power Could she be honest with Luca? Could she tell him how she felt?

In the end she knew she couldn’t reveal it all, yet she also felt he deserved a partial truth

“I wasn’t shaking with fear, Luca Not with you Don’t you realize how much it means to me that you stood up for me today? No one’s ever done that for me before I…I…” But she stopped She couldn’t tell him how she felt, it was too new, too tenuous “Please, don’t ever think I was afraid of you I never felt like I was in physical danger”